2025 J1 League
The 2025 J1 League, also known as the 2025 Meiji Yasuda J1 League for sponsorship reasons, was the 33rd season of J1 League, the top Japanese professional league for association football clubs, since its establishment in 1992. This was the 11th season of the league since its rebrand from J.League Division 1.
Vissel Kobe were the defending champions, having won their second league title in a row on the last matchday of the 2024 season.
Kashima Antlers won a record-extending ninth J.League title on the last matchday; it was their record-breaking ninth top flight title, their first trophy since winning the 2018 AFC Champions League, and the first league title since 2016.
Overview
This was the last J.League season played in a whole calendar year from late winter to early winter, with the following season onwards to be played from September to May, adopting the European football calendar. As a part of the transition, the league would have a one-off special tournament called the 2026 J1 100 Year Vision League to be held during the first half of 2026.The tournament format and match format was announced on 25 November 2024, with the season starting on 14 February 2025 and concluding on 6 December 2025.
Changes from the previous season
There were three teams relegated to the 2025 J2 League. Júbilo Iwata, Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo, and Sagan Tosu, were relegated as they finished 18th, 19th, and 20th respectively in the previous season, ending their one, eight, and 13-year stays in the top flight respectively.Three teams were promoted from the 2024 J2 League: Shimizu S-Pulse, who won the title and returned to J1 after a two-year absence, Yokohama FC, who finished second, returning to the J1 after just a season playing in the J2 League, and Fagiano Okayama, who finished fifth and won the play-offs; they are playing in the top flight for the first time in their history.
Clubs
Foreign players
From the 2019 season, there were no limitations on signing foreign players, but clubs could only register up to five of them for a single matchday squad. Players from J.League partner nations were exempted from these restrictions.- Players name in bold indicates the player was registered during the mid-season transfer window.
- Player's name in italics indicates the player had Japanese nationality in addition to their FIFA nationality, held the nationality of a J.League partner nation, or was exempted from being treated as a foreign player due to having been born in Japan and being enrolled in, or having graduated from an approved type of school in the country.
| Club | Player 1 | Player 2 | Player 3 | Player 4 | Player 5 | Player 6 | Player 7 | Player 8 | Former player | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Albirex Niigata |  Season statisticsTop scorers
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